Petals of the Rose
by Mascalzone Latino
Summary: It had taken the sinking of Titanic for Cal to realise just how much he had truly cared for Rose. When he finds Rose on the decks of the Carpathia, Cal vows to make it up to her in his own way. A/N 2 April: Chapter 4 will be uploaded soon with a bit of luck!
1. Chapter 1

**I found myself watching Titanic on Saturday night when I got home from work, primarily because it was Billy Zane's birthday and he was the main reason why I saw the movie 16 times at the movies, hehe. Anyway, I've been reading Titanic fanfiction on and off for the past several years and thought that I'd finally try my hand at writing something Titanic related. I've always been more of a Cal girl – maybe it's the tall, dark and handsome thing. I will do my best to update this as often as I can but I'm about two thirds through a Bachelor of Arts degree and am beginning third (and final) year papers as of today so there will be times where I can't update as often as I would like.**

 _22 November 1911_

 _Mrs. James DeWitt Bukater announces the engagement of her daughter Rose to Mr. Caledon N. Hockley, of Philadelphia. The date of the wedding has not been fixed, but it will probably take place soon after Easter._

Ah, there it was. Cal couldn't help but smirk upon seeing the announcement in the newspaper. Now, Philadelphia society – and the entire world – would know that Rose was officially his and there was nothing that they could do about it. He knew that the idea of announcing the engagement in the newspaper was most definitely Ruth's idea as Rose had been too upset and confused by everything that had happened since her father had passed away. Stunned even. She was definitely stunned when Cal had placed the engagement ring on her finger.

Cal knew that his father would be issuing an invitation for Ruth and Rose to attend dinner at the Hockley mansion very soon – if not that night, then perhaps the following night – so that other members of the Hockley family could formally meet his betrothed for the first time and then the wedding planning could begin in earnest. Ruth and Rose would be doing the planning but the Hockley money would be paying for it.

Ruth had made it perfectly clear to Rose that she expected her daughter to marry Cal, regardless of whether she had any feelings for him because she knew just how precarious their position in Philadelphia society was, following the death of Rose's father. As Ruth had put it, her late husband had left a legacy of bad debt hidden by a good name. She did not want the DeWitt Bukater name to be dragged through the mud. They were women of society and society dictated that Rose submit to Cal's will.

And submit she would.


	2. Chapter 2

_15 April 1912_

Cal had lost track of the time. All he knew was that he was in a lifeboat in the middle of the Atlantic because the unsinkable Titanic had done the unthinkable.

She had collided with an iceberg and sank to the bottom of the Atlantic!

If only his father could see him now…

Cal tried to keep warm in the frigid air. He had no idea when or if they would be rescued. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw the third class girl he'd claimed as his own in order to get on the lifeboat and found that he was envious of her. She was sound asleep in a woman's arms, sleeping the sleep of the innocent. Sleep was one thing Cal knew he wouldn't be getting for a while yet.

He looked at the man sitting directly opposite and gratefully accepted the hip flask he extended. Cal took a swig of the contents, not really giving a lot of thought as to who had drunk out of it before him, before passing the flask to the man on his right. The alcohol removed a little of the chill they were experiencing. He would've been wearing his coat, but he'd given it to Rose to wear before she got on a lifeboat then quickly alighted from it, wanting to be with Jack. He'd given it to her more out of modesty than anything, as it covered her more than the blanket she had around her shoulders did, not remembering until later that not only had he stuffed a lot of money into its pockets, he'd put the Heart of the Ocean in one of them too.

But for now, that was the least of his concerns. All Cal wanted at that point of time was to curl up somewhere and go to sleep then worry about how he'd tell his father that not only had he lost the Heart of the Ocean, he had also lost Rose. Yet, he had to wait until they were hopefully rescued before he could do anything.

This was when he realised that being one of the richest men in the United States wouldn't be in his favour. He had to suffer just like everyone else. No amount of money could bribe God to excuse his suffering.

With that thought in mind, Cal pulled the halves of the tuxedo jacket together, wanting to close out the cold. He wanted nothing more than to shut out the world, until they were rescued.

 _15 April 1912 – continued_

Once he was on board the Carpathia, Cal accepted the mug of hot soup that was offered, content to simply hold onto it for the warmth the contents provided. He was directed to the area where the first class survivors were, slowly sipping at the soup, seemingly lost in his own world.

It took Cal a while to realise that Ruth and Molly Brown weren't too far away. Ruth looked dishevelled – a look that she normally would never sport – yet she also looked upset. Perhaps she was remembering the last few words she had exchanged with Rose, not wanting them to be the way she remembered her daughter. Molly glanced at Cal and smiled a little, which he acknowledged. Maybe it was for the best that Molly, not himself, was with Ruth at that time.

Closing his eyes as he took another sip of the soup, Cal had a picture of Rose in his head. The Rose that had been so enchanting, making him want to know her a little more. He knew even then that she could be feisty when she wanted to be, which wasn't an endearing trait in someone who could be the future Mrs. Caledon Hockley. In some ways, it was good to see the world through Rose's eyes because it allowed him to see things in a unique way. In others, it wasn't because the age difference between them could come into play.

But Cal was aware of the expectation Ruth had – she expected him to reign Rose in. Bring her to heel, as it were.

Finishing the last of the soup, Cal looked around for someone to take the mug away before deciding to place it at his feet, suddenly aware of just how weary he truly was. He'd been awake for at least 24 hours. He needed sleep. Once he'd had a sleep, he'd see about getting a message to his father somehow.

" _She knows."_

" _I hope you're proud of yourself."_

" _I think a $20 should do it."_

" _There's nothing I couldn't give you. There's nothing I'd deny you. If you would not deny me."_

" _Open your heart to me, Rose."_

" _I had hoped you would come to me last night."_

" _To him? To be a whore to a gutter rat?"_

When Rose spat in his face, Cal woke up with a start, belatedly realising that it had only been a dream and noticing that someone had put a blanket over him at some point. He rubbed his forehead a little before looking around his surroundings, noticing that Ruth was now sleeping, with Molly Brown still close by. He knew that the amount of sleep he'd had was nowhere near enough, but he'd gotten some and that was important.

For his own peace of mind, and Ruth's for that matter, Cal knew that he needed to at least try and find Rose, to see if she had survived or not. He got up, placing the blanket on the chair, before approaching Molly.

"I'm going to see if I can find Rose. Please, can you…?"

Molly nodded, seemingly knowing that Cal was asking her to keep an eye on Ruth. He owed her that, at least.

As Cal made his way down the stairs to where the majority of the third class passengers were, he was approached by a Carpathia officer, who told that he wouldn't find any of his people there. Cal nodded, knowing that the man's words were likely to be true, but he needed to look amongst the filth, as he'd called the steerage passengers. It was in the back of his mind that this would be the one place that Rose would be, most likely with Jack.

It hadn't hit him until he'd seen Jack and Rose embracing close to the Grand Staircase on A Deck that he'd lost Rose's affection – what little of it she'd shown him at least. That was when Lovejoy attempted to drag him away from the scene but not before Cal had surprised his valet by getting his hands on his gun and taking aim at Jack and Rose, chasing them into the depths of the slowly sinking ship. Shock and anger could make people do things they normally wouldn't and that would be the reason he'd offer the two of them.

But first, he had to find them.

Things weren't looking good for Cal and he grew more despondent, until he thought he'd found her! Rushing up to her, he reached out, calling out "Rose!" but as she turned around, his heart sank. It wasn't her. He gave the girl a weak smile as he left her alone, still wanting – hoping – to find Rose. He wouldn't rest until he knew for sure if she'd survived or not.


	3. Chapter 3

**Here I am with Chapter Three! In order to get in the mood to write more of this, I've found myself listening to Titanic: Special Edition on Spotify. The album consists of the original OST and Back to Titanic.**

 _15 April 1912_

Everything had seemed to happen in slow motion since the unsinkable Titanic had sank to the bottom of the Atlantic. Rose found herself looking at the stars, thinking about how brilliant they looked. Counting them was a way to fill in time until they were rescued but after a while, she gave up, opting instead to sing "Come Josephine, in my flying machine" to herself.

The sounds of those who had initially survived the sinking had slowly subsided, casting an eerie silence, as many of them died due to hypothermia from being in the freezing water for too long. Rose wasn't even too sure how much time had passed until she felt the light of a torch on her face from a distance, with the sounds of "Is anyone alive out there? Can anyone hear me?" sounding extremely muffled to her. But that light meant hope. Hope that she and Jack would be rescued.

It wasn't until Rose turned her head that she realised that her hair was frozen to what she was laying on, but she was able to free it, turning to face Jack, trying to wake him to let him know that a lifeboat was close by. Despite her calling out Jack's name several times, he wasn't responding, and it took Rose several seconds to realise that he wasn't responding because the frigid waters of the Atlantic had claimed him. Saddened, Rose briefly thought about staying where she was, but she remembered what Jack had said to her – "You're going to go on and have lots of babies and watch them grow" … "You're going to die an old lady, warm in her bed. Not here. Not thing night" – and she knew that she couldn't let go of her promise to him. That she would go on.

With that thought in mind, she tumbled back into the frigid Atlantic, somehow swimming over to where an officer from Titanic bobbled, the whistle he had been blowing still in his mouth. Rose managed to grasp the whistle and blow, gaining the attention of those in the lifeboat who were rescuing anyone they could, refusing to stop until she was finally in the lifeboat, with several woollen blankets wrapped around her.

From that point on, everything seemed to happen in slow motion. From the Titanic officer lighting a flare to the lifeboat finally reaching the Carpathia to finally getting aboard, walking as if she was in her own world, which, in a way, Rose was. She wasn't even aware of a mug of soup being placed in her hands. She just wanted to be by herself. Alone with her thoughts and memories of Jack.

Rose found herself sipping on the mug of soup as she wandered, trying to decide where to stay for the time being. When she saw the masses of third class survivors, she decided that she'd go there, because she knew how Cal and her mother had felt about Jack. She probably looked as if that was where she belonged, with the blanket that was draped over her head and shoulders – if no one happened to look at her feet to see the shoes she was wearing. For they were definitely not those of a third class woman.

Rose found herself standing at a rail, trying not to listen in to what was being said around her. Most of the people were weeping and there were some who were asking Carpathia officers if any of their loved ones had survived by giving them descriptions of them, sounding distraught when they got some news that wasn't the news they wanted to hear. The Carpathia officers were also going around, collecting the lifebelts the Titanic survivors had worn, offering mugs of hot soup or tea and coffee.

Jack deserved to be with her. They were going to go to Santa Monica and drink cheap beer, ride on a rollercoaster until they threw up and ride horses in the surf. She would even be riding said horse with one leg either side – you know, "none of that side saddle stuff." It had taken Jack for Rose to realise that she really didn't belong in the first class world because she had dreams that she wanted to achieve and they wouldn't be, because of society and how it dictated her life. She barely had a say in whether she really wanted to marry Cal in the first place. Once the engagement ring was on her finger, she was Cal's property and she had to adhere to his every word and command. Rose knew that she was trapped. Ruth had made her expectations very clear, essentially telling Rose that she would be blamed should the marriage not go ahead, which would mean the true financial situation of the DeWitt Bukaters would be revealed and Ruth knew what would happen if that did come true – literally everything they owned would be sold. The mansion that Rose had called home for all her life included. Ruth would have to find work as a seamstress.

The mug of soup had long been discarded at her feet. Rose stayed close to the railing but she could hear footsteps that didn't sound like those of a third class person. She turned her head to the left, in order to see if it was a Carpathia officer wanting to get more names so they could get a list of just who had survived and froze somewhat when she realised that it was Cal.

He'd survived. And he had a somewhat despondent look on his face.

Belatedly, she remembered something he'd said about having an arrangement with an officer on the other side of the ship that would allow both him and Jack on a lifeboat. She knew that didn't happen because she'd gotten back on the sinking Titanic to be with Jack. Cal had probably said that in order to make her feel better, knowing full well what the real arrangement was – and Jack wouldn't be included.

"Rose…?"

Damn. She hadn't turned away quick enough and he'd found her. But he'd sounded hopeful and she felt that Cal couldn't be ignored now. Despite his faults, he had gone looking for her, after everything they'd been through. She waited until he stood beside her at the railing before speaking.

"Cal."

Cal moved to say something but the words couldn't come out. Rose turned so that she was perpendicular to the railing in order to get a truly good look at the expression on Cal's face. Like everyone who had been through the sinking of the unsinkable Titanic, he looked stunned and shocked. Yet Rose could detect a slight smile on his face and that she was probably the reason for the smile.

She could tell that he had barely slept. The left sleeve of his tuxedo jacket was torn. His hair was dishevelled. Apart from the occasional shivers, he appeared to be fine. Cold and tired but alive. Unlike Jack.

"Where is…?" He couldn't decide whether to say Jack or Dawson but when he saw her lower lip start to tremble, he knew he had his answer. Without thinking, Cal stepped forward and wrapped his arms around Rose, not really expecting her to return the gesture. Who could blame her? He'd treated her like a piece of property, not allowing her to speak her own mind, deciding what she would eat, what she would wear. Maybe that was why she had felt she had no other option but to jump off the Titanic. But he'd talk about that later.

"I'm so sorry, Rose."

Cal wanted to move a hand to cup the back of Rose's head but thought better of it. The intimacy she was experiencing with him holding her in his arms was probably too much for her, even at that point of time. Rose couldn't remember the last time Cal had held her in the way she was being held now. She pulled away from Cal a little to gauge the expression on his face…was that a genuine look of grief?

"And Mother?"

"She's sleeping. Molly is with her."

Cal felt Rose relax a little when he spoke yet he was certain that Rose seeing Ruth right away would be too much, for even he remembered the words the two women had last exchanged, with regards to Ruth's comment about the lifeboats being seated according to class. Cal mentally thanked Molly again for keeping an eye on Ruth and vowed that he would pass the mental thanks to her in person before Rose and Ruth saw each other again.

Cal removed his arms from around Rose's waist, mentally afraid that she would run off on him again. He knew that forcing her to see her mother again wouldn't be a good idea but the two of them getting more sleep, if they could, would be good.

"Do you want to rest somewhere? Perhaps something to eat?"

Rose looked around her. From what she could see, most of the deck chairs were already taken and she knew that she didn't really want to sleep on the decks of the Carpathia but it was likely that Cal would still try to use his influence in order for them to find somewhere private to sleep. She was weary, as was Cal. They both knew the other needed sleep.

With a small nod, Rose watched as Cal moved to her side, wrapping an arm around her shoulders, just as he had done on the night she'd tried to throw herself off Titanic, before they set off. That time, it had been an act of possession. This time, it was an act of support.

Out of the corner of her eye, Rose saw Cal's hand on her shoulder and thought that it didn't look anything like it normally would. Cal's fingers would normally be gripping her shoulders, the knuckles of his fingers turning white, telling her in his own way that she was now his and that his word was law. Now, they were relaxed.

Rose watched as Cal asked a Carpathia officer if it was possible for them to gain access to a first class state room or suite that that had at least two, preferably three, beds. She smiled inwardly as she realised that Cal's request would be granted. Sleep, if and when it would come, would definitely be a most welcome thing.


End file.
